Data storage options have evolved from magnetic tapes, diskettes, CDs, DVDs, to  Blu-ray discs and as the need for bigger and long-term storage, manufacturers come up with better solutions. Sony and Panasonic have collaborated to produce the next-generation optical disc called Archival Disc.

Fulfilling the goal of an agreement signed July 2013, Sony and Panasonic have announced Monday that they will be releasing Archival Disc in summer of 2015 that aims to fulfill the need for durable storage options. The Archival Disc will be a dual-sided media that can only be written on once.

"Recognizing that optical discs will need to accommodate much larger volumes of storage going forward, particularly given the anticipated future growth in the archive market, Sony and Panasonic have been engaged in the joint development of a standard for professional-use next-generation optical discs," Sony and Panasonic stated in a joint news release.

The first version of the disc will have 300GB of space but the two companies, which also collaborated to make Blu-ray possible, will release Archival Discs that can hold as much as 500GB and 1TB of data later on.

"In recent times, demand for archival capabilities has increased significantly in the film industry, as well as in cloud data centers that handle big data, where advances in network services have caused data volumes to soar," stated Sony and Panasonic . "The two companies plan to actively promote this next-generation high-capacity optical disc standard in the professional field in order to offer an effective solution for protecting valuable data into the future."

The manufacturers of the new optical disc promise compatibility with older generations of file formats. It is also said to be dust-resistant, water-resistant, and able to withstand changes in humidity and temperature.

This Archival Disc comes as a welcome development when you have 4K content screaming large file sizes to handle. With Blu-ray, the largest capacity can be around 100GB, while that might sound roomy enough for individual users, businesses and film or music professionals, however,  will find that amount of storage a very cramped space.

Details with regard to pricing were not announced but we can expect these to surface as the date of launch nears. We will keep you posted about that information. While it may target enterprise customers at first, bearing a high sticker price can be expected. Only when the technology becomes more affordable can it be made available to individual users. Sony and Panasonic also did not disclose about the hardware that can playback the Archival Disc.